FC Cincinnati has focused its stadium search on two sites and has started working with an architect, according to a published report.

The year-old professional soccer franchise is targeting two stadium locations between the University of Cincinnati and the Ohio River, according to an in-depth Sports Illustrated analysis of Cincinnati published last week as part of a batch of analyses on each of the 12 markets competing for four Major League Soccer expansion franchises.

The SI.com report didn't go into specifics about any sites, but it said FC Cincinnati president and general manager Jeff Berding said the team has MEIS architects working on a new stadium design. MEIS, with offices in New York and Los Angeles, designed MLS facility StubHub Center in Los Angeles as well as other MLS stadiums. The firm also did design work for renovations at Paul Brown Stadium, home of the Cincinnati Bengals, where Berding worked for 20 years before launching FC Cincinnati a year and a half ago.

“Berding said FCC has zeroed in on two potential stadium sites, both of which are in the city’s urban core that stretches (between) the river, downtown, Over-the-Rhine and UC,” Brian Straus, who covers soccer, wrote on SI.com.

ORDINANCE (EMERGENCY) submitted by Harry Black, City Manager, on 6/26/2017, authorizing the City Manager to execute a Development Agreement with SkyHouse Cincinnati, LLC or another affiliate of the national real estate developer known as Novare Group, pertaining to the development and construction at 601 E. Pete Rose Way in downtown Cincinnati of a mixed-use project containing approximately 352 residential units and an approximately 504- space parking facility, and providing for City assistance to the project in the form of a rebate of a portion of the service payments in lieu of taxes imposed in connection with a 30-year tax exemption for improvements to the property pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 5709.41, the amount of which rebate will be performance-based.

And third phase of the Banks will begin in 2018:

Carter plans to start $85 million 3rd phase of the Banks in early 2018

Quote:

Phase 3 is being designed with about 20,000 square feet of street-level retail, four floors of parking dedicated to residents, and topped with 300 apartments. He said the design would be similar to Radius, but a little bit taller because of the additional levels of parking.

alternative idea for Cincy FC
tweeted it to Dan Gilbert (but not expecting a response)
they want to relocate the bus terminal anyway, right? Im just not sure the existing garage would structurally allow for the weight on top, even if the necessary expansion of the garage were stronger.

Too bad about the downtown Macy's though. Was that the last dept store downtown?

Yes. There is still a Sak's Fifth Ave. but there is virtually zero other shopping remaining in the CBD.

There were four department stores downtown when I was a kid. Three of them closed in the 1990s. Lazarus moved from its historic building (formerly called Shillito's) to a new building in 1997, then was rebranded as Macy's in the mid-2000s.

The old Shillito's building was converted to apartments in the late 1990s. The former McAlpin's closed in 1996, sat empty for more than 10 years, and was converted to condos around 2012.

The old Pogue's store was demolished around 1990 and turned into Tower Place Mall. The mall closed around 2012 and is now...a parking garage.